This application is related to a copending application Ser. No. 169916, filed on Mar. 18, 1988 entitled "Method for the Strain-Free Mounting of Optical Components", Nazeer Ahmed and Roger R. Tomlinson.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for the strain-free mounting of a component to a base. In particular, the present invention relates to the strain-free mounting of mirrors in optical systems and laser systems that are subjected to temperature changes.
2. Description of the Technology
The mounting of optical components in a way that avoids distortion or actual damage of the component due to thermally induced stresses has been a vexing problem for many years. Mirrors, for example, are commonly fabricated of materials which have a low coefficient of thermal expansion and, often, are required to be mounted on platforms or stages which are made of metals which typically have a high coefficient of expansion. If the mirror were to be rigidly mounted to the platform, a temperature related expansion or contraction of the mirror and platform would build up structural forces and torques on the mirror that would deform or even permanently damage it. The need for precise control over the surface figure of a mirror used as part of an optical system precludes the acceptance of even relatively small deformations, and the expense of fabricating a large mirror makes the prospect of its being damaged very undesireable. Similar considerations apply to other types of optical applications, such as where the aimpoint of a laser must be critically controlled.
At present there are two commonly employed methods of mounting a mirror to avoid the effects of mechanical stresses that arise from such differences in coefficients of expansion. One is the ball and socket arrangement shown in FIG. 1a. The ball is free to move in a cylindrical bore which constrains the motion to the axis of the cylinder. A second mounting point is a rigid attachment which remains fixed, and the arrangement at the third point of support allows planar motion with two degrees of translational freedom. This method suffers from the drawback that the ball and socket must be preloaded to maintain the stiffness of the mounting. Such preloading increases friction between the ball and socket, and the mirror undergoes considerable distortion due to residual friction and torque.
A second conventional method of mounting a mirror is shown in FIG. 1b. Three bearing points on a metallic base (points A, B and C) are connected to three bearing points (E, F and G) on the mirror by means of rods which have substantially identical thermal expansion characteristics. Uniform heating or cooling of the mirror and the base results in equal amounts of length change for the rods and of angular displacement allowed by the bearings. As the temperature of the mirror and the base changes, the rods connected between CD, CF, BF, BE, AE and AD expand or contract and the rods connected between CD, CF, BF, BE, AE and AD rotate at the joints A, B, C, D, and F. Each of the joints must be preloaded to provide the required stiffness for the mirror mount. However, such preloading increases the friction at the joints which in turn induces a strain related deformation upon the mirror surface.
Stiffness of the bearings is required to satisfy line-of-sight stability requirements for electro-optical sensor and laser systems. Neither of the two prior art methods described above is satisfactory because of the unavoidable strains induced within the component being mounted, the strains due to this requisite stiffness of the mounting bearings and the inherent residual friction.
A problem closely related to the difficulty of making strain-free mounts in an environment of changing temperature is the problem of finding a suitable type of bearing to use in the mounting arrangement. Bearings are highly developed in the art, the goal being to reduce to a minimum the friction associated with the bearing surfaces. Commonly used antifriction bearings employ balls running in races, or cylindrical or conical rollers operating between races. Since there is some amount of rubbing in such bearings due to deflections under load, lubrication is typically required to ensure a reasonable bearing life. However, lubrication causes problems, especially in those installations designed to operate at one extreme of temperature or the other. At very high temperatures lubricants tend to vaporize, and at very low temperatures lubricants tend to become too viscous, or even to solidify. For some applications the bearings are intended to operate in a vacuum. The absence of atmospheric pressure gives rise to further difficulties. For example, evaporation of the lubricant and subsequent lubricant condensation may contaminate crucial optical surfaces, such as the mirror itself.